For African American yard art, Grey Gundaker's work is a great source.

Edited volume:
1998a Keep your head to the sky: Interpreting African American Home Ground. 
University of Virginai Press, Charlottesville.

Individual book:
1998b Signs of Diaspora: Diaspora of Signs: Literacies, Creolization, and 
Vernacular Practice in African America. Oxford University Press, New York, 
Oxford.
In fact my guess is that these are two of the citations that Whitney is 
referring to.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Whitney Sprague" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 12:10 PM
Subject: Re: Concealed objects in buildings


> Also not concealed are the "shi-shi dogs" of Japan that are kept at the
> doorsteps of homes.  They're actually lions, rampant; one lion has an open
> mouth and the other's mouth is closed.  The theory is that bad spirits 
> will
> enter the open mouth and be unable to escape because of the closed mouth.
>
> And don't forget the tradition of African-American yard art, especially in
> the Southeast.  While it's commonly an aesthetic tradition (the topiaries,
> for example), there are many obviously "spiritual" traditional pieces as
> well (and yes, I can provide cites so please don't jump all over me this
> time).  A few houses down from a field school dig site in Easton, MD, was 
> a
> perfect example.  There was a birdbath with the bowl turned upside down on
> its stand, arches with prayers hanging from them; white poles at each
> entrance to the yard and home; guardian figures (in this case Catholic 
> saint
> statuary and Halloween scarecrows) crammed along every window, etc.  The
> yard was devoid of grass, just carefully raked dirt in the western African
> village tradition.  Again, it was for years ago so I can't remember
> everything in the yard, but I do remember it was very, very full of
> guardians.  Elsewhere you'll commonly find bottle trees and large hanging
> pieces of white sheeting.
>
>
> On 8/30/06, Ron May <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>
>> In a message dated 8/30/2006 5:44:57 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
>> [log in to unmask] writes:
>>
>> While  not concealed, many european cathedrals have carvings that are
>> designed to ensnare or block the entrance of the "wicked". It has
>> been years, but if I remember correctly, Regensburg has a carving of
>> the "Devil's grandmother" in the entranceway. The idea being that  the
>> carving would prevent Satan and his minions from entering  the
>> building. Other cathedrals have similar carvings.
>>
>> James  Brothers, RPA
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>>
>> Would that explain the gargoyles that sit inside the churches? I have a
>> friend who bought a replica as a souvenier and it is absolutely hideous.
>> The
>> iconography of churches would be a fascinating topic, especially for the
>> early
>> ones in England and Europe.
>>
>> Ron May
>> Legacy 106, Inc.
>>